Primary Resources: Summaries

To allow cities and towns to exercise control over local planning decisions

To allow cities and towns to create a CPF by assessing a surcharge on annual real estate taxes, which can be used to address three core community concerns:

Acquisition and preservation of open space

Creation and support of affordable housing

Acquisition and preservation of historic buildings and landscapes

Key Eligibility Criteria: Voters must approve establishment of a CPF by vote in an annual municipal or state election.

Funding and/or Eligible Uses:

A minimum of 10% of the annual revenues of the CPF must be used for each of the three core community concerns.

The remaining 70% can be allocated for any combination of the allowed uses, or for land for recreational use.

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Program: Housing Development Incentive Program(HDIP)Purpose: To increase residential growth, expand diversity of housing stock, support economic development, and promote neighborhood stabilization in designated Housing Development Zones in Gateway municipalities by providing two tax incentives to developers to support market rate housing for sale or lease.

Rate of educational attainment of bachelor's degree or above that is below the state average

Funding and/or Eligible Uses:

Two tax incentives to developers:

Local option property tax exemption

State tax credit for qualified rehabilitation expenses

Up to $5M available each year for the Housing Development Tax Credit

Multi-unit residential development for sale or lease as market-rate housing

Substantial rehabilitation of an existing property

May be mixed-use, including commercial

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Program:Mass Cultural Facilities FundPurpose: To increase investments from both the public sector and the private sector to support the sound planning and development of cultural facilities in Massachusetts

Key Eligibility Criteria:

Nonprofit cultural organizations; and

Subject to some limitations:

Municipalities

Institutions of higher education that own cultural facilities

Funding and/or Eligible Uses:

Administered by MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council

Capital Grants

Feasibility Grants

Technical Assistance Grants

All grants must be matched with cash contributions from the private or public sector.

To ensure the continued use and integrity of historic cultural resources by supporting the restoration rehabilitation, stabilization, and documentation of historic and archaeological properties, landscapes, and sites listed in the State Register of Historic Places

To ensure that government actions are studied in consultation with interested parties, and

To ensure that proposed actions be modified, if feasible, so that public funds are not used in ways that cause needless destruction to our heritage

Key Eligibility Criteria:

Historic and archaeological properties listed on the State Register of Historic Places and owned by:

Cities

Towns

Non-profit organizations

Funding and/or Eligible Uses:

Administered by the Massachusetts Historical Commission

50% matching grants are available for qualifying properties listed on the State Register to ensure their physical preservation.

Applicants have the option to apply for up to 75% of the total project cost if they are willing to commit an additional 25% toward an endowment fund for long-range preservation and maintenance of the property.

Studies necessary to enable future development or protection of a State Register-listed property

For Downtown Technical Assistance Site Visit Program only non-entitlement Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) cities and towns (i.e., less than 50,000 population) are eligible

Funding and/or Eligible Uses:

Federal CBDG funds

The MDI Technical Assistance Site Visit Program provides assistance to cities and towns targeting specific downtown revitalization issues including, but not limited to:

Economic development

Organizational development, including the start-up of a Business Improvement District

Design

Housing Development

Promotion and marketing

Parking

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Program:Peer - to - Peer Technical Assistance ProgramPurpose: To provide small grants to municipalities for short-term problem solving or technical assistance projects. Municipalities may apply for grants of up to $1,000 to employ appointed or elected municipal officials from other communities to provide technical assistance related to community development and/or capacity building at the local level.

Key Eligibility Criteria:

MA cities and towns with populations of under 50,000 that do not receive CDBG funds directly from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Funding and/or Eligible Uses:

CDBG Technical Assistance Funds provide for grants of up to $1,000.

Exclusively for technical assistance related to community development and/or capacity building related to community development at the local level

Grant funds may be used to pay for up to 30 hours ($900) of technical assistance and up to $100 for reimbursement of travel, photocopying and/or the cost of incidental materials.

A maximum of 10 eligible applications are funded yearly on a first-come, first-served basis.

To redevelop deteriorated areas (substandard, decadent or blighted open areas) by providing the economic environment needed to attract and support private investment for residential, commercial, industrial, business, governmental, recreational, educational, hospital or other purposes

To help cities and towns establish and strengthen urban renewal agencies

To provide technical assistance in the development and implementation of urban renewal plans